Over the past several years as advancing technology applications and robust new platforms have made remote work more accessible for companies everywhere, members of the workforce have been gravitating towards remote work opportunities in droves. The flexibility of scheduling, lack of long and tiring commutes, increases in productivity, and a stronger work-life balance individuals experience when shifting to remote work are just some of the major drivers behind the upswing.
Growth in Most Recent Years
From 2016 to 2017 alone, there was a 7.9% increase in employees shifting to a remote work environment. A substantial rise for sure, but nothing compared to the 44% the number has risen in the past years, and the staggering 159% increase in remote work that occurred from 2005 to 2017.
Reflected in actual numbers, approximately 3.9 million US workers were working remotely in 2017, and that number has skyrocketed to 4.7 million today. 4.7 million people is 3.4% of the entire US population.
Companies have found that offering a remote work structure improves employee satisfaction, allows them to expand their search for talent, makes it easier to retain strong employees and talent, and can decrease their overhead due to not needing lavish or extravagant office spaces.
Six out of 10 companies polled in a study by Global WorkplaceAnalytics confirmed that they saw substantial cost-savings when shifting their work structure to a remote environment.
Future Projected Growth
Surveys conducted of members of the US workforce indicate that 43% of full-time employees want to be working remotely as of 2020. The increased desire for a remote working environment has become even more prevalent in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, where many workers who never thought they would have the opportunity to work remotely are now setting up home offices and finding themselves enjoying their new work environment.
In the US, an estimated 56% of jobs held by US employees could be compatible, at least in part, with remote work. The available capability coupled with the growing desire in the workforce to have remote positions has resulted in projections that 25-30% of the US workforce will be working fully remote by the end of 2021.
The push for remote work is so strong that 54% of surveyed employees have indicated that they would consider quitting a job that did not offer remote work to accept a position that allowed the flexibility, even if it meant a substantial pay cut.
As of today, 70% of workers globally are working remotely at least once per week, and future projections indicate that over 75% of the global workforce could be working remotely at least part-time by 2021.
How To Make the Shift
Companies looking to join the rapid fire trend of shifting to remote work will need to considering investing in the right applications and infrastructure to support sending their workforce remote. Applications like Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, Remote Desktop Services, and Remote Access Servers are key components to building an efficient and sustainable setup for employees to work from home.
These applications provide workers with remote access to essential networks, allow access to exist from anywhere on almost any device, and still ensure that all confidential information is protected and secured even while employees are accessing it from outside the office.
If you're looking to get started on setting up remote capabilities for your workforce, reach out to us today. With our robust catalog of applications designed to help companies of any size make the shift, we can help you create a comprehensive plan to join the remote workforce and start enjoying all the benefits it has to offer.
